Description

An Incredible Photographic Archive Documenting the Trial of
James Garfield's Assassin, Charles Guiteau. Accused of a
capital crime, a man sits in his cell signing autographs and
inscribing photos for sale to those obsessed with his murder trial.
O. J. Simpson a few years back? No. Charles Guiteau, presidential
assassin, more than a century ago. There is nothing new in the
marketing of one's likeness while incarcerated. While unique in
degree (O. J. is purported to have made hundreds of thousands of
dollars signing cards, footballs, etc. while in the Los Angeles
jail), the practice dates back to the advent of popular
photography. Perhaps the first to utilize this approach for funding
a legal defense was Charles Julius Guiteau. This lot is the
definitive photographic archive that documents the events detailed
below. Guiteau was born in Freeport, Illinois, September 8, 1841.
In the forty-one years he lived, his only "accomplishment" was the
assassination of President James A. Garfield. A failed New York
attorney whose area of specialization was small claims - for which
he charged an astounding 75% contingency fee - the man was always
of "questionable sanity." After Garfield won the 1880 election,
Guiteau concocted the perfect job for himself. He wanted to work in
the U.S. Consulate Office in Paris. Believing he had much more
intelligence and ability than anyone with such aspirations, Guiteau
thought he could just name a job and it would be his. He constantly
visited the White House to talk with the President's staff. In a
short while, the secretaries were no longer amused by his "drop
ins." By the spring of 1881, the White House was off limits to this
unsuccessful office-seeker. Guiteau became enraged. On July 2,
1881, the President prepared to leave Washington on a two-week
holiday. He entered the Baltimore and Potomac Railway Depot in only
the company of Secretaryof State James G. Blaine. Given the lack of
security, it was a simple matter for Guiteau to walk right up to
the President and fire two shots from a 44-calibre revolver. The
first ball passed through Garfield's left shoulder, the second
lodged in his back above the left kidney. He survived for eighty
days, eventually dying of blood poisoning. Ironically, Garfield had
personal insight into the horror of a presidential assassination. A
hero of the Civil War, Congressman Garfield found himself in New
York City when news broke of the assassination of President
Lincoln. A mob of more than 50,000 massed at the Custom's House in
downtown Manhattan and threatened to riot. When they began marching
to the office of the New York World (a newspaper ever-critical of
Lincoln) crying, "Vengeance!" Garfield single-handedly stopped the
crowd by delivering a moving speech that called for calm.

"The President's tragic death was a sad necessity," is a quote from
a letter found in the pocket of the assassin. "In the President's
madness he has wrecked the once grand old Republican party; and for
this he dies." (He would also blame James G. Blaine as inspiring
his evil deed.) He fled the shooting scene in a cab, but turned
himself in a few hours later. In his cell Guiteau wrote his own
epitaph: "Here lies the body of Charles Guiteau, Patriot and
Christian." Guiteau went to trial on November 14, 1881. The verdict
was rendered January 25, 1882, and he was hanged at the jail in
Washington, D.C. five months later.

At no time during his incarceration did Guiteau slow his efforts to
find public support for his actions. And just as much energy went
into selling photographs taken from his jail cell. As he wrote in
one note on February 8, 1882, "Dear Sir: Photographs are one dollar
apiece or $9 per dozen... The photograph is very fine. Send for
what you wish by money order..." While Guiteauhimself may not have
made very much, others did. As proclaimed in an advertisement for
carte and cabinet photographs, selling these keepsakes from the
trial represented "A Fortune For Agents." Images of the assassin,
the trial judge, the lawyers, even montages of the president's
family sold well. As the carte notes, "These National portraits
sell like hot cakes to every person who sees them at 50 cents each.
Agents can make $10 a day in selling them." Few extant examples of
Guiteau images are known today. He seems to have passed into total
obscurity with his jailhouse photographs long discarded. (The large
number of John Wilkes Booth photographs still found are a function
of the actor's own ego - Booth was considered quite handsome and
loved to be photographed - and the fact that they were collected
before April 15, 1865. But he stands alone in surviving the test of
time.)

We believe this incredible holding originates from the personal
files/studio of Washington, D.C. photographer C. M. Bell. It is
certainly the most comprehensive such collection known. C. M. Bell
was the only photographer authorized by the defendant (and
Washington authorities) to visit the Washington, D.C. jail to take
portraits prior to the trial. In fact Guiteau seems to have entered
into a partnership with the photographer as the assassin actively
marketed these photographs to raise funds for his defense. This
archive includes forty-six (46) original photographs. Forty-five
are approximately 4" x 5.75" albumens mounted onto original 7" x 9"
boards and in extremely fine condition. (One is a loose albumen
with tear but still fine.) Several have the addition of period
manuscript titling at the bottom of the mount with C. M. Bell's
copyright notice. We believe these to have been the original plates
by which maquettes were made or photographs were offered, as
several include the partial autographsof those who posed. This
voluminous archive includes: four (4) from-life portraits of
Guiteau; three chest-up studies and one full standing shot. Two are
hand titled with the addition of Bell's copyright notice. Two
studies of the Baltimore and Potomac Rail Road Depot where the
shooting occurred; an outdoor photograph of the court house where
the trial took place, a montage of scenes hand titled "Historical
Photograph of the Assassination..." with images of the gun, the
victim, the assassin, the doctors, and various other scenes. Also
present are several photographs of medical figures involved in the
case, including Dr. Smith Townsend (who initially examined Garfield
at the station), attending physician Dr. D. W. Bliss, and Fordyce
Barker, Professor of Medicine who testified at the trial. There are
several portraits of Guiteau's family members: his father, brother,
sister (who was the wife of defense attorney Scoville), John K.
Porter, lead defense attorney, E. B. Smith, Counsel for the
Prosecution, Presiding Judge Walter S. Cox, District Attorney
George Corkhill, Supreme Court Justice David Davis, and even one of
the guard who had taken a shot at Guiteau (but missed!) Sgt.
William Mason. There are several portraits of leading figures:
Garfield, Blaine, "Black Jack" Logan, etc. Also found are numerous
portraits of jurors (including one of the sole African American to
sit in the jury); and even a gruesome photograph of the assassin's
brain - dissected immediately after his execution. There would be
no possible means for assembling a comparable collection of
original, period photographs from this dark event. This is truly a
unique offering.

Auction Info

Auction Dates

October, 2006

12th-13thThursday-Friday

Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 5

Lot Tracking Activity: N/A

Page Views: 1,554

Buyer's Premium per Lot:
19.5% of the successful bid (minimum $9) per lot.

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You reach a customer base that is in many ways completely unknown to the major auction houses, and your marketing to this base is as professional as one could hope for. As I continue to wind down my holdings.
Michael Z.,Hawthorne, NY